Face tent for inhalation therapy



Jan. 3, 1967 J. L. B'ALCH 3,295,521

FACE TENT FOR INHALATION THERAPY Filed Oct. 28, 1965 INVENTOR. 24 JAMESL. BALCH AGE/VT United States Patent .0 n

3,295,521 FACE TENT FOR INHALATION TIERAPY James L. Balch, Madison,Wis., assignor to Air Reduction Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., acorporation of New York Filed Oct. 28, 1963, Ser. No. 319,202 1 Claim.(Cl. 128--205) This invention relates to an improved face tent devicesuch as used in oxygen therapy treatments.

Aerosols are frequently administered to patients in oxygen therapytreatments. Such aerosols may comprise medicaments for treating certaindiseases, such as respiratory infections and the like, or may compriseagents adapted to ease or facilitate the patients respiration. The usualtype of oxygen tent enclosure, while sometimes used in these forms ofaerosol treatment, are to a large extent not preferred for suchpurposes. The aerosols tend to form deposits in the oxygen tents whichnecessitates laborious cleaning. Consequently, face masks or face tentdevices generally are preferred for administering aerosols to patients;they are frequently preferred also for oxygen therapy not involvingaerosol administrations, because they do not require as much space andcan be regulated to afford a more efiicient consumption of oxygen thanis the case with conventional oxygen tent apparatus. The face tentdevice is similar to a mask in that it is worn by the patient but isreadily'distinguished from the usual face mask device in that it usuallydoes not form a completely closed breathing chamber and is generallydesirably light in weight and not provided with rebreathing or breathingvalve elements as in many face masks. In general, the face tent devicesare usually open to the atmosphere at least at the top. Suchconstruction permits a desired degree of ventilation which reduces thediscomfort of excessive warmth from the patients exhalations and thesense of confinement that accompanies the wearing of a conventionalmask. In addition, face tents facilitate oral communication by thepatient. At the same time, the faw tent forms a shield partiallyconfining the region in which the patient breathes to permit suitableoxygen enrichment of the inspired gases and administration of aerosolswhen desired.

Face tents that have been available heretofore have, however, not beenentirely satisfactory. By warrant of the open topped construction whicheliminates the normal seating surfaces around the upper portion such asare provided in the usual face mask, there is a considerably greaterdifiiculty in achieving a comfortable and, at the same time, firmseating or mounting of the face tent on the face of the wearer. Someface tent devices have been constructed with extensive face containingareas of the mask extending around and underneath the wearers chin andalong the sides of the cheek so that some reasonably firm accommodationcould be achieved for the support of the face tent. The result of suchconstruction, however, is to create large areas of facial contact inwhich body heat is accumulated and a high degree of discomfortexperienced when such devices are worn for any length of time. Also, theobjective of simplicity, lightness and comfort sought by the use of facetent devices is largely lost or sacrificed in such forms ofconstruction.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide animproved face tent device for use in oxygen therapy which provides afirm and positive seating engagement against the face of the wearerwithout, however, necessitating excessive areas of contact and whichaffords a maximum degree of comfort to the wearer.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such animproved face tent device of a semirigid transparent plastic materialwhich is relatively light in weight and simple in construction.

- Patented Jan. 3, 1967 It is :a further object of the invention toprovide a simple, light, semirigid face tent device for forming inconjunction with the face of the wearer a partially confined open toppedbreathing chamber in which the face tent is seated along an edgeengaging the forward portion of the wearers chin beneath the lower lipand which has rearwardly extending side members providing a minimumcontact area with the face of the wearer which are effective to seat theface tent firmly and securely in place with a minimum discomfort to thepatient.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, suchan improved face tent device comprises an arcuate shield member forminga forward, substantially vertical, wall portion spaced from the face ofthe wearer and side wall portions extending rearwardly therefrom, abottom wall extending rearwardly substantially horizontally from thebottom of said forward wall portion and having at its face engagingperiphery an outwardly curved seating edge, said seating edge mergingwith the lower edges of said side wall portions having similar outwardlycurved seating edges to form a continuous smooth contoured saddleadapted to be seated against the face ofcthe wearer along a line ofcontact extending laterally across the forward portion of the wearerschin and rearwardly and upwardly therefrom along the side checks to theregion of the cheek bones, the arcuate shield member thus defining achamber contiguous with the nose and mouth of the wearer closed at thebottom by said bottom wall and open at the top to the atmosphere andmeans secured to the rearwardly extending flexible side wall portions ofsuch shield for engaging the head of the wearer to urge said bottom wallseating edge rearwardly against the wearers face and the seating edgesof said rearwardly extending side wall portions laterally against thesides of the wearers face along the line of engagement provided by saidsaddle formed by the seatin edges of said bottom and side wall portionsof said shield. Advantageously, the outwardly curved edges formed alongthe face engaging edges of said bottom wall and said rearwardlyextending side walls extend continuously around the entire periphery ofsaid arcuate shield member including the upper nonengaging edges thereofdefining the top opening of the breathing chamber formed by said arcuateshield, thereby enhancing the structural rigidity of the face tent whilepermitting the use of a construction having a desired degree offlexibility.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the followingspecification in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a face tent constructed in accordancewith the invention showing its general configuration in relation to thehead of a wearer and the means for securing the face tent in position;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the face tent shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation view of the face tent showing the faceengaging saddle of the face tent formed by the edges of the bottom walland rearwardly extending side wall portions of the tent; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along the line 44 in the drawing showing theintegral lug mounting means.

Referring to the drawings, the face tent device is referred to generallyby the numeral 10 and is desirably made of a suitable semirigid,flexible plastic material such as polyvinyl chloride. The plastic facetent is desirably transparent and may be fabricated by any suitablemeans such as molding and the like to provide a desired shape andcontour.

The face tent comprises a generally arcuate shield member 12 which has aforward wall portion 14 and rearwardly extending side wall portions 16.The lower edge of the arcuate shield is enclosed by a bottomsubstantial- 1y horizontal wall 18 which extends rearwardly from theforward wallportion 14 and terminates in an outwardly curved or rollededge 20. The rearwardly extending side wall portions 16 extendrearwardly beyond the terminal edge 20 of the bottom wall and have loweroutwardly curved or rolled face engaging edges 22 having a configurationsubstantially similar to that of the face contacting edge 20 which mergewith the edge 20 to form a continuous face engaging saddle such as shownat 24 in FIGS. 2 and 3. The rolled edges 22 along the lower faceengaging edges of the rearwardly extending side walls advantageouslyextend continuously around the upper edge of the arcuate shield as shownat 22'. The face engaging edges forming the saddle 24 afford asubstantially narrow line of contact with the face which, however, is atthe same time free of sharp edges and thereby rendered more comfortableto the wearer. The extension of the outwardly curved edge along theupper edges of the shield provide a reinforcement along the edge whichassists in maintaining the desired molded shape of the shield which isadvantageously of relatively thin and lightweight construction and whichwould otherwise be readily distorted.

The lower face engaging edges 20 and 22 of the shield are arranged to bereceived against the face of the wearer along a relatively narrowcontinuous line of engagement extending laterally across the front ofthe chin of the wearer immediately below the lower lip as best seen inFIG. 1 and extending rearwardly and upwardly along each of the sidecheeks to approximately the region of the cheek bones. Suitable lugs 26which may be integrally formed with the molded shield member as seen inFIG. 4 are provided near the rearward extremities of the flexible sidewall portions to which the opposite ends of pliable mounting strap 28,made for example from a pliable sheet of polyvinyl chloride, may beanchored. By extending the mounting strap 28 around the rear of thewearers head, the tension of the strap urges the face shield against theface of the wearer so as to afford a secure and firm engagement of thelower seating edge 20 against the forward part of the wearers chin whilethe face engaging edges 22 of the rearwardly extending wall portions 16of the shield tend to be urged inwardly against the sides of the wearersface. The forward portion of the chin affords a firmand secure supportwhich does not require the area of contact to be of excessive dimensionsin order to achieve a desired degree of firmness. V

The positioning of the shield and face tent on the wearers face isstabilized by the engaging edges 22 which extend rearwardly and upwardlytherefrom which also do not require more than minimum contact with thewearers face in order to maintain the shield firmly in place, Therearwardly extending side walls 16 also converge slightly in a downwarddirection, as may be seen by the inward position of its bottom edge inFIG. 2, relative to the upper edge 22'. This configuration tends toavoid conformance of the flat surface areas of these wall portions withthe sides of the wearers face so as to maintain a space therebetween andto limit contact substantially with the edges 22 of these wall portions.

The bottom wall 18 of the face tent has formed therein a ported fitting30 which is adapted to receive thereon .or therein a suitable gasconduit 32 through which oxygen and other desired gaseous and aerosolmedicaments may be delivered to the face tent for inhalation by thepatient. It will be seen that the breathing chamber defined by the facetent is substantially confined by the bottom wall and engaging side wallportions of the shield but is entirely open at the top. In the case ofoxygen being delivered to the face tent, therefore, the gas entering theinlet fitting;

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificor preferred embodiments hereinabove described but may be made or usedin other ways without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined in the following claim.

I claim:

A face tent device made of flexible plastic material for administering atherapeutic inhalant fluid to a atient and having a semiconfinedbreathing chamber contiguous with the nose and mouth of the wearer,directly exposed at its upper extremity to the surrounding atmosphereand 1 closed at its bottom, comprising an arcuate vertical shield memberforming a forward vertical wall portion adapted to be spaced from theface of the wearer and rearwardly extending vertical side wall portionsextending along the sides of the wearer face and tapering upwardlytoward the rear, a bottom wall extending substantially horizontallyrearwardly from said forward wall portion to a sub= stantially lesserextent than said side wall portions having an outwardly curvedface-engaging seating edge, said seating edge merging with lower edgesof said rearwardly extending side wall portions which are similarlyoutwardly curved to provide lower seating edges and form a con tinuoussaddle adapted to be seated against the face of a wearer along a lineextending laterally across the forward portion of the chin of a wearerand rearwardly therefrom to the area of the cheek bones, the upper edgesof the side walls and said forward wall being substantially free ofseating contact with the face of the wearer and said" outwardly curvededges of said saddle extending continuously around the entire peripheryof said arcuate shield member to effectively provide structural rigidityfor said face tent, gas inlet means mounted in said bottom wall fordelivering therapeutic fluid upwardly and generally parallel to saidforward and side wall portions of ,said 1 shield, lug members formedintegrally with said rearwardly extending side wall portions approximatethe terminal ends thereof and strap means secured at its endsrespectively to said lug members and adapted to extend behind the headof the wearer to urge the seating edge of said bottom wall rearwardlyagainst the forward chin portion of the wearer and said lower seatingedges of said rearwardly extending wall portions laterally against thesides of the wearers face along the line of engagement provided for bysaid saddle formed by said bottom wall and said side wall portions ofsaid shield.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,859,748 11/1958Hudson 128-146 3,042,035 2/1962 Coanda l28l46 3,170,463 2/1965 Duggan128-205 FOREIGN PATENTS 621,010 4/1949 Great Britain.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. W. E. KAMM, Assistant Examiner.

